Pinpricks
by Loxias
Summary: Sookie/Eric/Amelia and new characters take on body art as a new business. Somehow though, they all end up at the Vampire Death Match finals competition. Set after From Dead to Worse. Spoilers for all books.
1. Chapter 1

Pinpricks - Chapter 1

Prologue

This is Charlaine Harris's world, I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

The vampires in this story have requested that they not be domesticated. They have informed me that while reasonable and self-interested, they are not benevolent, sweet creatures who can be toyed with or who forgive easily. After all, they suck blood. I will try to keep it from getting to inappropriately sexual or too violent, but I think flirtation with darker temptations reminds us why we love vampires so much.

More chapters will be forthcoming. As you can see dialog is my strength; I'm less confident about descriptions. Reviews welcome.

"Morning grumpy," Amelia offered cheerfully. "There's coffee."

"Hmmmph."

"Why the bad mood?"

"Eric has appetites," I said as Amelia poured me a cup of morning coffee.

I didn't look like I had slept much, even though no vampire had entered the house last night. I was always more sore two days after we had sex. Last night I had worked and tonight and tomorrow I had the day off. So, I was due to meet Eric at his house for a date at 7:00PM. In a way, I was dreading it.

"Appetites that he can indulge when he's not here? You two have some blood bond." For once it was Amelia's turn to raise an eyebrow to me as she sipped her coffee. Usually I was the one asking the questions about Amelia's sexcapades and then regretting it.

"That's just it. He can't indulge them," I said looking down at my hands.

"What do you mean he can't? Don't tell me vampires have erectile dysfunction. Hahahahaha. The mighty Viking has been bested."

Suddenly, I was offended for Eric. "Amelia that is sure as heck not the problem." If anything, I was having trouble keeping up with him in sex department. We had a ton of chemistry Eric and I, but he was a vampire and I was mortal. The speed and strength of our activities wore me down sometimes.

"Then what is it?"

"Sometimes I feel like I'm getting beat up when we have sex. It's not him," I said to her look of alarm. "Just if I'm worn out or depleted from feedings, I feel like I'm being hit with a two-by -four. Most of the time I love our ….passion, but sometimes that vamp is too much for me. "

"You need to take control in the bedroom."

"Fat chance. Somehow I can't imagine anyone taking control from Eric." In the bedroom he was particularly dominant. Last night he had ripped a hole in his wrist and wiped a streak of blood over my stomach. "My woman," he had yelled as he entered me. Subtlety was not his strong suit.

"Don't you know the bottom is the one with the real power," she said.

"Amelia!" I didn't know what a bottom was exactly, but it sounded dirty.

"Who's usually on to?"

"I will not answer that."

"That's what I thought. Eric is the dominant partner. I mean, it's obvious."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Unless it's hard on you physically to always be on the receiving end. You have to take control while still letting him think he has the power."

I sighed. Amelia was too much. "Eric loves me. When we're together it isn't some power grab against the king of Las Vegas."

"I know he does, sugar, but you need to step up your game. You've got a good head on your shoulders. Use it. You both will end up enjoying it more"

"Love is not a game," I admonished.

All's fair in love and war," she countered waggling her eyebrows.

I laughed. "OK. I'm listening," I said wondering if I would regret it. Amelia was a good, if unorthodox friend, and in truth many of her crazy ideas were wonderfully creative. She truly wanted me to be happy, and I knew it because she was broadcasting loud and clear. I needed titanium shields when Amelia was in the room.

"Listen I have an idea," she said her eyes brightening

"I don't know if I want to know what it is."

"There's this new thing. Some people call it pricking, some call it jabbing, but don't call it cutting. That has too many bad connotations," explained Amelia.

"A lot of the fangbangers cut." I said already regretting this. "They're all about I hate myself and I'm crazy for blood. Bite me, bite me. That is not for me."

Some of them were calling it pinholing, but now it's pretty much accepted that everyone calls it pinking." she went on ignoring my disgust.

"What's pinking," I asked.

"Well it's kind of like tattooing, in that it's done with a needle gun, but there's no ink."

"So, it's permanent?"

"Well it can be. But it doesn't have to be. If you have a vampire, which you do, then it won't be."

"I don't understand"

"Basically the pinking artist uses a needle gun to punch holes in your skin. The holes are done in a decorative pattern. I saw some of the designs in a tattoo magazine and they were beautiful. Those pinkers call themselves artists for a reason."

"OK, I'm listening."

"After the holes are punched, they're bandaged. The bandages are designed to rip off any scabs that have formed when they're removed. So that means that a pattern appears in blood on your body when you take off the gauze. Your vampire is supposed to lick off the blood and heal the wounds. But, I've heard that some people are into the patterns and are letting the holes scar over."

"My lord, what will people think of next?" I said.

"Don't act so shocked. People have been decorating their body with ink and piercings from the beginning of time."

"I know but this is so…" I thought for the word. "Extreme."

"Girlfriend, you date the undead. We have people who sprout fur and howl at the full moon on speed dial. YOU READ MINDS. Your life is extreme. Our life is extreme. Personally, I don't see the harm if all parties consent."

"But who punches holes in their skin and thinks it's pretty?"

"People who love vampires. Do you wear makeup?"

"Yes."

"Do you have pierced ears?"

"Yes."

"So what exactly is the difference? It's all body art."

The problem with Amelia's bluntness is that she was often right. "I've never heard of anything like it before."

"Really Sookie. I know you play up this backwoods sweetheart thing, but you're going to have to open your mind a bit here if you want to have things go your way in the bedroom."

"Are you saying I should do this?"

"Why not try it. Just a small pattern, on your back where no can see it but Eric. Anyway, if he licks it, it will heal that night. You want to be a little adventurous, don't you?"

"No. I want to not feel like I've just done battle after we … we make love." I was a little ashamed to say it.

"Well the solution for that is to make love with the mind as much as the body. Come on. Let's go check it out. What do you say?

8888888

Amelia drove us to a street in Shreveport that was seeing new activity. A café had just opened up and an art gallery as well beside it. It was definitely an area for the under 40 set as pairs of what I like to call the young, the beautiful and the savage were walking up and down the street. I recognized one of the fangbangers from Fangtasia. We nodded politely at each other as we walked by. Since Eric and I had officially bonded, everyone was nothing if not civil. At least on the outside. I knew what they thought of me underneath.

The shop looked respectable enough from the outside. Only the name "Markings" gave it away. Below that a small sign advertised tattoos, piercings and body art of all sorts. I gathered that pinking wasn't exactly illegal, but that was only because the authorities didn't know about it yet. Once they did the department of health was going to do be all over this shop like a hound sniffing for squirrels.

"This place is known for being clean, using only sterile instruments and putting out some real pretty designs and it's right here in town"

"Amelia, what do you do with your time when I'm not around?"

"I keep myself busy."

As we entered the shop I could here a series of clicks and gentle woosh of what sounded like water spray. A young man covered in tattoos sat at the counter. Despite his appearance he looked up at us with a friendly expression.

"Welcome to Markings. How can we help you?"

"Well," Amelia began. "My friend here is interested in getting pinked."

"Amelia!" She was too blunt for her own good.

I was ignored. "She's interested in getting a small design on her back. She's got a vampire in her back pocket, if you know what I mean, and she wants to inject a little spice…"

"Enough. Amelia!"

"I'm Travis he said holding out his hand to me. You are?"

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse and this Amelia Broadway," I offered extending my hand. That was one of the nice thing about humans. Greeting them was not confusing.

"Nice to meet you both," he said and shook Amelia's hand as well.

"And you," I said relaxing.

"Did you have a pattern in mind?" he said looking at me.

"No. I was hoping for a little advice in that department."

"Well you've come to the right place. Delilah, that is the owner of this shop, is a talented artist. She's almost through with her client now. Please have a seat over there. Would either of you like a coffee or water? We also have lemonade."

"Lemonade would be lovely," said Amelia. "Hey, do you have any books that we can look through while we're waiting?"

"We have tattoo books, but we have no pinking books. People who see those pictures tend to get too upset." Travis laughed nervously.

I shot Amelia a horrified look.

"A lot people come in here to get pinked hoping to attract a vampire for the first time. They don't have much experience with the blood. We recommend pinking only for clients in a long term, committed relationship with a vampire. Those clients tend not to be so squeamish about a little trickle here and there. Still, pictures for the unitiated can be, how shall I put it,… a turn off."

Amelia and I looked at each other.

"The pictures in the magazine didn't show any blood," she whispered

"What am I getting myself into," I glared at her.

"We're real happy to take a picture of it when you're all done though. It's a little souvenir for your vampire sweetheart to keep in his wallet when you're far away. He's gonna love it. I assume it's a he, am I right about that?"

"Oh yeah," Amelia replied rolling her eyes. "Northman's nothing if not all man."

"Eric Northman?" Travis asked.

"That's right, I said Eric Northman."

"Eric Northman owner of Fangtasia?"

Travis jumped up from his chair had caught on fire. "I'll be right back ladies. You just sit tight. Delilah honey. Are you through?" he said as he walked through the curtain to the back.

"You know I can't be rushed," we heard from a female voice in the back. "This is not jab and jump design back here." Then, we heard the sound of hushed voices in the back and then silence from the machines.

Suddenly a tall woman appeared through a curtain followed by Travis.

"Hi, I'm Delilah Marking. Nice to meet you."

She had red hair done in small beaded braids around her head and dark eye-liner, but her face was young and there was a sweetness to her expression. She was wearing a t-shirt and a leather vest with blue jean shorts and cut off cowboy boots. She looked tough but feminine. I only saw one tattoo. It was an ornate T and it was on her forearm. She radiated a get down to business aura. I decided to probe her mind. If this woman was going to be sticking needles in me, I felt perfectly justified in taking a looksee.

_The blond is quite a canvas. She's so plushy, like a 19__th__ century Venus. I wonder if she's a bleeder? I have the perfect rose stencil for those boobs. She looks scared. Eric Northman, My god. I've been trying to get to him for months. Don't let me lose my nerve. I'm a good artist. What I do is beautiful. _I could feel her building up to say something.

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse and this Amelia Broadway," I said eyes narrowing. If anyone was trying to get to Eric Northman I wanted to know why.

"So you're here for pinking. We don't get too many of those clients."

"That's right," I said confidently.

Amelia looked at me noticing the shift.

"Well in that case. I have a business proposition for you," said Delilah.


	2. Chapter 2

Please note that "pinking" is a completely fictitious form of body art invented for the vampire world. It does not exist and would have to be highly regulated if it did. You will see why as the story progresses. Please DO NOT go out to your local tattoo parlor and request to get pinked.

This is Charlaine Harris's world, I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pinpricks Chapter 2

"This better not be a set-up," I joked to Amelia as Delilah walked us over to the café.

"Hey, all I wanted was a little day off fun," she protested.

I knew this was true because Amelia was broadcasting worry tinged with curiosity. I was feeling a little nervous because of the mention of Eric, but I could not detect any violent or frightening thoughts coming off the new girl. Delilah shuffled us over to a secluded table in the back of the café ringed with couches and comfy chairs.

"What'll you have ladies," she asked

"Coffee, no cappuccino please."

"Make that two," Amelia said. "You think she's going to spike the steamed milk?"

I looked at Amelia and laughed and both of us relaxed. One of the best things about Amelia was her love of adventure. On the way over to the café I got a clear read on Delilah. Her intentions were not evil. What I felt from her was hope and a little bit of greed. Well, not exactly greed, but the girl was definitely itching to make some money. If she was up to anything it had to do with a dollar, not stakes and biting.

"I think this is all business."

Delilah sat down with the coffees and paused as if searching for the words. "I know this is a bit forward of me, but I know who you are, or rather I know that you are a favorite of Eric Northman over at Fangtasia. When the bangers talk about you they get practically get blood in their eyes. A lot of bangers get tattoos you know. Usually it's the name of their favorite bartender plastered on their a…"

"A favorite?" I asked.

"Excuse me, I mean the favorite."

That implies that there are others. There's nobody else.

Oh, so you're Eric Northman's girlfriend?

"It's more than that. We're bonded." I ignored Amelia's surprised expression. I wasn't quite sure why I was telling all this to woman I had just met, but there was something honest about Delilah Marking. She was a basically good person, albeit obviously out for a buck.

"Is that like insured, or something? I don't get it."

"It's more than that."

Oh, so you're married.

"No, not exactly. It's more like we're connected, soul to soul, through the blood."

Delilah rubbed the T on her forearm. "Say no more. I understand what you mean. Travis is my soulmate. We been together since college. I couldn't live without him."

I knew she was telling me the truth because I felt the warmth and the safety come off her.

"Well then. I'll just be blunt."

"Please do," said Amelia as I rolled my eyes.

"Travis and I, we're out to make our place in this world as artists. And we don't want to be starving artists, we want to be successful artists. Artists with money. That's why we came up with pinking."

"You guys invented that? Those pictures in Tattoo magazine where yours?"

"Sure did," she said proudly. "Oh I have to give credit to Travis, he's the idea man – he's entrepreneurial like that – but the bulk of the designs are mine. We photo-shopped the blood out of those pictures by the way. Travis and I we met at the Arkansas school of art and design we have been together ever since. He wanted to be an art dealer and me his brilliant artist. Well, we have been clawing and grasping since college. You think vampires are tough. I suspect the art world is more vicious by half. They are not willing to even consider the work of two southerners with no connections and no ritzy degrees. So, Travis and I decided we were going to make it on our own. Screw the art world. Everything is art, we decided, even the body."

"That's interesting, but was does that have to do with Eric Northman?" I injected bringing the conversation back to the point at hand.

"Well, I wanted to set up a booth or even just hand out flyers in Fangtasia advertising pinking. So, I called to try and set up an appointment, but I was put off by a female vampire that told me that Fangtasia does not accept solicitations. She told me to 'peddle my filthy human wares elsewhere.'"

"Pam!" Amelia and I said in unison.

"Well, then I just went into the club and bowed down in front of Eric. I must say he seemed grateful when he found out that I wasn't offering myself to be bitten or…or more. He let me explain what pinking was. Then, he took a handful of my flyers and escorted me to the door. As I was leaving he bared his fangs and said 'It is an interesting idea human, but as you can see we are quite skilled at making our own holes.' After that, I was too scared to press my point."

"Eric," Amelia and I said and looked at each other. "He can be intimidating."

"I tell you this would be such a money maker for him. We would be willing to split commissions with him for any human that came on the recommendation of a vampire. We could set up competitions and contests. I tell you, Travis has some great ideas.

"It does sound interesting, but I'm not sure what I can do to help you. I would be willing to take the flyer to Eric, but since he's already seen it, I'm not sure what good it would do."

"Let me pink you. I mean your whole body."

"Hold up. Wait just one cotton picking minute here. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I was just gonna' get a tiny heart on my backside"

"I'll do it for free."

"I'm not sure about this."

Delilah leaned forward and spoke softly. "Listen I have it on very good authority that a night of passion with a pinked human changes the vampire."

"Changes them how?"

"Well, it does two things. It keys them into your blood in a new way. Essentially you drench them in your blood, in your essence. They can't get your smell off of themselves for weeks.

"Vampires are all about smell," Amelia agreed.

"Two, it puts you in the driver seat. The vampire is so desperate and hungry for that experience again that they want a repeat performance and they will do whatever you tell them in order to get it again."

"And you get repeat business?"

"Exactly. A tattoo you can only do once, but pinking can be done an infinite number of times."

"How often should you do it?"

"I don't recommend it more than once a week," Delilah cautioned. "There can be a fair amount of blood loss with a new vampire."

"My vampire is … experienced."

"Exactly. That's why you're the perfect advertisement. When he sees what I've done to you, he'll be putting me in a shop in that strip mall across the street from Fangtasia and I'll be open all night."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"What time is it?"

"Eleven AM."

"That's perfect. You guys go get some lunch and come back to the shop in two hours. Travis will clear my schedule and I'll call up two classmates for help. See you in a couple of hours. I'll need about three hours with you."

"I don't know about this."

"You're going to love it. By the way eat some real food for lunch. You're going to need your strength."


	3. Chapter 3

Well folks, we're going to veer off course a little bit here. I'm trying to weave multiple story lines into one big narrative. I hope you are as excited as I am to see Bill finally get the attention he so richly deserves.

This is Charlaine Harris's world; I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

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Pinpricks: Chapter 3

That afternoon I opted not to get pinked. Amelia was terribly disappointed and Delilah and Travis looked like they were going to cry, but I couldn't go through with it. The truth was I got scared at the last minute. I went to Markings and unclothed down to my underwear. In the art room where they did the work, Deliliah and Travis had built a kind of frame with a bar on top of it. The bar could be adjusted up or down. They asked me to step inside it and hold my hands over my head. The bar was placed so that I could rest my hands on it. It felt too weird, like fangbanger bondage stuff.

It took them two hours to draw the patterns on my skin with a laborious pen point technique that tickled for the first few minutes and then became incredibly annoying. When they were done I couldn't believe how different it looked from what I had expected. It was arresting. On my lower abdomen they drew an angel with outspread wings that spanned across to both hips. Around each nipple was graced with a beautiful rose and two strange symbols were outlined on the back of each of her hands. They told me they were ancient Norse symbols and that Eric would love them.

I opted not to go for the final hour and the complete pinking. I said I would pay them for their time and keep the designs to show to Eric. If he wondered what I was up to, I could explain about the pinking or just tell him that I was thinking of getting tattoos. Delilah and Travis understood. I explained that if there's one thing I am, it's a good girl.

When I left the shop I found a message from Eric telling me that something had come up at Fangtasia and that he would be late. Little did I know that that was the night when everything began that would take us to Colorado. I went to Eric's to wait for him. I wondered what he would think of the designs. Little did I know how much trouble they would get us all in.

************************************************************************************

That evening Eric had requested Bill at Fangtasia at 8PM, early enough to avoid the heavy crowds and the tour buses. Their most recent meetings had been uncomfortable, stilted even. It was becoming increasingly difficult to get more than a one syllable response out of Bill. He radiated anger. Eric understood that no vampire likes to be duped, even if they had a hand in their own undoing. His intention was to try and make it up to Bill. The truth was Eric needed him. Bill was a top earner, regularly depositing checks into the bank account whether he was angry or not, and Eric wanted his technology skills for a new project. He had to grant the guy some respect for the way Bill had carved a stable niche for himself in the ever changing world of vampire politics. Bill was his own boss and he would be valuable to whoever came into power, but he wasn't so valuable that he was worth killing for. He had created a job for himself just under the radar, but with total autonomy.

Moreover, force would not work on Bill, at least not for the long term. Eric was smart enough to know that it rarely did. Let everyone think that he had lived to be a 1000 through coercion – by staking his way to the top. He knew that he had done it through bargaining, manipulation and charm. Mostly charm. Those were the tactics that led to longevity. And really, playing a strategy game was infinitely more entertaining than picking up the chess pieces and throwing them at your opponent. He had to admit that he respected Compton. For a young vampire, Bill had managed to earn Sookie's almost blind devotion, so surely he knew something about the strategy game himself.

"Compton has arrived," announced Pam walking in.

"Show him in."

"Northman," said Bill.

"Hello Compton. I'm pleased me that you have come."

"You're bleeding," said Bill looking at four deep gauges on Eric's neck. Bill was immediately on his guard and it wasn't just because of the scratch marks. The 'hello' was troubling, but the 'It pleases me' business was downright worrying. Eric was up to something.

"I've called you in tonight to present a small but I suspect quite lucrative business proposition."

This was unusual. Eric was rarely this direct. He liked to complicate things, probably to keep a lot of balls in the air and Bill on guard.

"OK. I'm listening."

"Yes Bill, I know you are listening. I am the only person speaking in the room, so it would be difficult for you not to hear me."

"It's an expression. It means you have my full attention."

"That's good Bill, because I think you are going to find this idea intriguing."

Pam rolled her eyes.

"We, here, in area 5 have benefited from the Great Revelation. Look around. We have money, we have all the willing blood we can drink and we finally have freedom to move about openly. This is such an important step for us, and I think we should work at keeping it that way.

"I agree. I tried to mainstream from the beginning."

"And that's the key isn't it Bill. We need to mainstream. We need to find ways to fit seamlessly into "normal" society, if there even is such a thing," Eric laughed.

"So what do you have in mind?"

"Well, Bill, it's hard for the younger vampires to get the quantities to sate their need. They are out scouting the bars for blood donors. They glamour without thinking about the consequences and they find themselves ensnared by drainers or FOTS members. WE must find a way to reduce the hunger. We must help our brothers and sisters provide for their needs in the nest, where it is safe and controlled."

"Are you suggesting we get into the transfusion business?"

"Not exactly. That's been tried with limited success. Selling blood bags has potential, but it's really only one step up from True Blood. I want to supply what you would call the real thing. This is ten steps up."

"Blood donors?"

"Yes, Bill, blood donors. But permanent donors that live with the vampires and provide for their needs in all regards."

"Are you talking about prostitutes?"

"Bill, that is an ugly term for something that could be so advantageous for all involved. I prefer to think of them as blood donor brides."

"BDBs," said Pam.

"There is tremendous interest out there on the Internet from the Eastern Bloc and Asian countries with people desperate to find their special vampire to care for. Type vampire wife or husband into any search engine and you will be bombarded with chat rooms of people looking for love."

"So, let them find it there."

"But that's just it Bill. They don't find love on the Internet. Rather, they are found by nefarious individuals who claim to be willing vampires who then lure them into slavery of one sort or another. We must step in Bill," said Eric pounding on the table for effect.

"So what's your answer?"

"A hybrid dating, mail-order bride, escort service for the discriminating vampire. All of it, completely legitimate, insured and transparent to the authorities. And this won't just be Internet. We will have offices across the country for person-to-person interviewing."

"But you want to set this up on the Internet first?"

"Correct, Bill. And that of course is your domain."

"How much?"

"Bill, for a Southern gentleman you move quickly. 70/30. You might at least take me out for dinner and a movie."

"50/50"

"Bill, you get above yourself," Eric growled.

"60/40," said Bill

"Done. Of course, Bill, the larger share will be mine."

"Isn't it always?"

"Now, Bill, no bad feelings please. We all stand to make a great deal of money. What do you think of the name e-hemorrhage?"

"No, Eric," said Pam

"How about the Outflow?"

"What does that even mean?" asked Pam.

"I'll work on a name," said Bill.

Eric stood and up and came around to lean on the front of his desk closer to Bill. "I was hoping we could come to an agreement tonight. In fact, I wagered on it. And to show my good faith, I want to provide you with a little token of my appreciation. I think it's something that will keep you from going out to get distracted, so that you can focus on our project. In fact, I hope it inspires you. I understand you have been feeding randomly."

"What business is it of yours who I bite?"

"Bill, don't get upset. As my employee, I have to watch out for your welfare. You can't just feed wherever you want. So, I got you a pet."

Pam hit a buzzer under the desk and a door opened with two vampires carrying in a woman tied to a chair.

"Who is this?" Bill asked.

"Well, I didn't really get her name," said Eric rubbing the scratch marks on his neck.

"Amara," said Pam. At that name the woman had begun to struggle against the ropes.

"I'm not sure she's house broken," said Eric looking at the woman with a cocked eyebrow.

Then she hissed. It was such an animal sound that it surprised Bill who turned to give her his full attention. She was petite and muscular, with light brown skin and full auburn hair streaked with black going all the way down her back. But the most amazing thing about her was her face. It was a sharp, finely proportioned, and heart shaped. She had huge almond shaped, expressive brown eyes that were narrowed angrily at Eric. He grabbed her head and pulled it to the side.

"See, Bill. I have provided you with an exotic," he said indicating a large, spotted birthmark that started under her ear and crossed her neck to disappear under her dress. "I'm told it goes all the way down."

"Did you kidnap this woman?" Bill asked.

"Absolutely not. She's an escort."

"You bought me a woman," Bill asked incredulously.

"No Bill, I got you a kitten. She's shifter and she's your pet. Her job is to entertain you while you set up the website. And frankly, I think you will find her very amusing. I know I would under different circumstances."

"Are you here willingly," Bill asked kneeling in front of the woman.

And then, he fell into her eyes. The trouble with me, Bill thought as he gazed into them, and he could now see that they were flecked with gold, is that I am too romantic to be a vampire. She was bewitching. She smiled slightly.

"Take me with you," she said in a voice almost too low to hear.

"See, Bill. She is willing. She knows how hard it is for pets to find good homes these days. The reason she is tied up is because she attacked me. She seems to have a certain animus toward me that she will not explain. So, I had Pam taste her. How would you describe her, Pam?"

"Spicy," said Pam. "I hope you like foreign food."

"Bitch," said the shifter woman. Pam reached over and slapped her.

"I'm not going to take this woman home with me. I have no idea who she is."

"Bill, she a professional and she has been thoroughly vetted. Now we can argue about it for a few more minutes and waste more time, but in the end you will take her home, because you will do as I say."

"Is this one of the women from the Internet."

"Yes, you can think of this as something of a dry run."

"Do you really want to go home with me?" Bill asked.

"Willing. I choose yes," nodded the woman.

When he had her in the car Bill examined her at her. She was simply but sexily dressed in a plain black dress that ended just above the knee and supple black leather boots. The heel was high but not too high. Normally, he would have been uncomfortable with this situation, but that was Eric. You never knew what would happen. On top of everything, she smelled good. Now exactly sweet but alluring in an animal kind of way. They had untied her to get into the car and then retied her hands in front of her.

"So, Amara, how do you find yourself in Shreveport?"

"Name is Amur, not Amara. Amur, like hammer."

OK, Amur.

"Hungry."

"Are you hungry? Do you want to stop and get something? What kind of food do you like?"

Meat. Beefsteak. Cream. Shrimp snacks.

"Anything else," Bill asked laughing.

"Chicken, sometimes."

"What kind of accent is that?"

"Russian."

Bill pulled into the supermarket parking lot grateful that they stayed open until 10PM these days. He parked the car and opened the passenger door. "I'm going to cut those ties. If you want to run away I suggest you go now before I shop. You're free to leave."

He pulled a box cutter out of the back seat and shredded the ropes. Immediately she grabbed his face. Bill recoiled thinking that she meant to strike him as she had Eric, but she was fast. She was halfway out of the car, kissing him in less than a second. The force of the encounter had made him step back, but she stayed with him, pressing into him, smelling him, closing her eyes. Then her tongue darted out. The salty taste of it sparked something. Bill parted his lips, calmly put his hands on her shoulders and rocked back toward her. He couldn't help himself. He opened her mouth gently with his tongue exploring. She was tangy, that he could tell. And exotic was the right word. He had never tasted anything quite like her. He felt a pull inside himself and then a hunger pang and he broke away to look down at her upturned face.

"I just met you."

"Thank you," she said with closed eyes.

"For what?"

"Viking evil."

"Eric, evil? Not really. Manipulative, yes. Irksome, definitely yes. But evil? I don't think so."

"Old vampire."

"Have you met him before?"

"Only small English," she said looking apologetic and getting back into the car. She put a hand on his arm before he turned toward the store. "Cream, yes?"

"Yes cream."

She had come with a medium-sized suitcase, so he knew that Eric expected her to stay for some time. He showed her to her room and placed her suitcase near the closet. "This is where you'll stay," he said. Then he took her to the kitchen. He unwrapped the T-bone that he had purchased leaving it on the counter to look for a pan. "Can you cook?" he asked. "I can't." Her nose went up into the air and she took a deep breath in. Then she knelt at his feet.

"Amur, what are you doing?"

"Hungry."

"Why are you kneeling beside me?"

"Hungry."

"Do you want to cook this?"

"Steak, please," she gestured toward the butcher paper with her eyes. Those eyes spoke volumes.

"Do you want me to give you the steak? Like this, raw?" Bill said dangling it over her head.

She jumped up slightly to take it with her teeth, but he couldn't help himself and he pulled it way at the last minute. "You are a hungry kitten," he said. She knelt down again and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hungry," she said through clenched teeth.

"Don't get angry. Here you go," he said dropping it.

With a flash she had it in her fangs, ripping the bloody flesh from the bone. The tearing noises and the blood on her face excited him. He felt the pull on his sex again, this time stronger and watched her devour the meat. Now it was clear she was shifter. But, she wasn't completely shifter either. She seemed in some kind of space just before transformation. It wouldn't be apparent to a human, but any vampire would be able to tell. She was nearer her animal state than most shifters, and when he looked closely he saw the wildness. She was almost feral.

He knelt down to stroke her hair, but she growled at him and turned her head to keep the steak away from him.

"I'm not going to take your dinner. I just want to pet you. You are a pretty thing."

She dropped the bone and rubbed her cheek against his hand.

"Are you purring?"

"Cream," she said and picked the bone up off the floor with her mouth.

He pulled a wide bowl from the cupboard and sloshed the cream into it.

"No," she cried licking what had spilled up off the floor.

"Don't worry. There's more cream."

So there they were: her on all fours lapping up the cream with her pink tongue and Bill on one knee before her mesmerized by a white drop on her nose and the obviously sexual position of her body. She slowed down and looked up at him, her tongue still extended in the cream.

"Vampire hungry now?"

Bill knew that it was odd for a vampire to feed from a shifter. The two species did not often engage sexually and when it happened the vampire was often younger than Bill and quite experimental . Some vampires were known to be into that sort of thing, and of course vampires didn't have any kind of legal or moral code that precluded such a coupling, but it wasn't often done. It was mostly a matter of convenience. Shifters were a tremendous amount of trouble and not as pliable or docile as humans. They could not be glamoured and they were known to inflict severe property damage to a place on the full moon, if kept in captivity. And of course, that is when someone who was into shifters would want them around.

Most of the time Bill felt uncomfortable in his pale, cold skin. Walking forward into the future, leaving human emotions and values behind had been painful. Often it remained so. The only time he truly forgot was when he fed. Then, he felt he his full power, swallowing the blood in rhythm to his prey's heartbeat, then slowing down that beat with the rhythm of his sucking. Through his fangs he felt his power over life and death and it intoxicated him. He wondered if other vampires felt the same loss and the same power. He could not ask or express this as such a query would be deemed unworthy of a vampire. Perhaps, Eric felt guilty about how much he had taken from him. Or, perhaps he just wanted him occupied and entertained. Tonight Bill would take advantage and feed deeply from this shifter. She had been given to him as a pet and she seemed willing. And, she was correct. He was hungry.

"Clean your teeth," he said standing her up with a firm grip on her elbow. She was warm.

"What teeth?"

"Your teeth," he said tapping on his own with his forefinger.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like food in my mouth when I kiss you."

She arched her eyebrow and went upstairs to her bedroom. In the small bathroom to the side she brushed her teeth thoroughly and rinsed several times. When she was through she looked in the mirror and smiled. "Kiss you," she said. Then she took off her dress, laid it on the bed and took of her boots. Out of her bag she found a pair of thigh high taupe stockings with a large, blue bow garter at the top. Then she pulled out a diaphanous black night dress. It was short – ending mid thigh— loose and paper thin. As she walked down the stairs, the fabric brushed against her nipples.

Bill had started a fire and sat in front of it. He was looking pensively into the flames when she appeared at the arm of his chair. She was stealthy. "You look good," he said. Her large eyes caught the flickering firelight and her smell almost coiled around his neck and pulled him to her. Swiftly he pulled her onto his lap, exposing the patterned side of her neck to his fangs. It was unusual, and looking at it started to make him dizzy. She was intoxicating. He looked back at the fire and stroked her neck. What was the harm in this? How long had it been since he had enjoyed a feeding? How much longer than that had it been since he had enjoyed a fucking?

"I like that you don't talk much," he said.

She turned her head toward and looked at him with her big eyes blinking once slowly.

"Meow," she said.

Then he bit.

He sucked her long and hard and with each pull he felt her spirit coiling into his blood. Maybe that was another thing different about shifters, her blood was almost inebriating. It tasted like a cross between some kind of spiced grain alcohol and orange. But, he had to be careful. He didn't want to drain her down, so he pulled up and looked at her.

"Tasty," he said.

The blood was seeping out of the two holes on her neck mixing with the pattern of the birthmark. She took the first two fingers of his hand and stuck them in her mouth swirling her raspy tongue around wetting them. She took them out and plunged them insider herself, pushing the night dress out of the way as she did so. Then she began to move, sinuously rocking on his hand. It was so slow and so silent and so expert that he sighed, leaned back on the chair, and watched her. Inside her he felt her slick and hot, much hotter than human hot, and he could feel her swell with blood.

"You are a sexy kitten. I could get drunk from you"

With that she pulled his fingers out of herself and stuck them in his mouth. The taste was new to him. There was an unidentifiable feline scent that laced her sex and he breathed it in. Quickly, he turned her around to face him, so that she was straddling him with her legs. He pulled the loose shift off so that he could take in her body. Her breasts were not too large and her pert nipples were a beautiful mocha color. Her stomach was flat and her hips narrow. But the most interesting feature was the birthmark. It did go all the way down, starting at her neck, traveling down to cross her stomach and continue along the opposite thigh, where it ended midway. She would have been desirable no matter the situation, but he was grateful that she was so different from what he had tasted of late. Lately it had been the bitter taste of loss and regret. There was nothing bitter about what he tasted now.

He pulled her to him. "I'm going to kiss you now." There was no surprise or hesitation now as there had been at the supermarket. His tongue parted her lips and her tongue danced along his extended fangs. He wanted to lose himself in her smell. He played with tongue and kissed her deeply. She sighed into him. When he had finished and pulled away from her, he ran his thumb over her wet lips and then brought it to his mouth to kiss.

"You're a cat of some kind."

"Yes."

"What kind?"

"Leopard," she said patting her heart. "Very rare."

"It must have cost Eric a fortune to get you here," Bill said.

"Only small English," she responded.

" Let's not talk then. Come with me," Bill said as he took her by the hand to lead her up the stairs.

She was expert in the bedroom, but not aggressive. She sat him down on the bed and undressed him slowly tilting her head occasionally to look at him. By the way she looked into his eyes and blinked and the way she smiled slightly, he could tell that she liked what she saw. He was lean. When he was naked she climbed over him and ran her tongue over his right nipple. And, what a tongue it was. Cat tongues are coarse and raspy and this felt like sand paper over his flesh. It was slightly painful, but almost completely exciting.

"Clean you, now," she said.

"Your tongue," he said pointing to his own, "it's coarse. Lick lightly." And then he licked her arm delicately. "Like that."

"Like that?"

"Just like that," he replied as she whisped her way down his body with feathery licks that made him shiver. When she got to his sex he was already hard and she stroked it with her hand appreciatively. She stretched out between his legs and very slowly began to lick his sex up and down with a long, langorous motion. She did not rush. She just licked without changing her pace, but over time her tongue became harder and raspier until he felt deep electric currents traveling from it every time it ran over him.

He did not know how long it went on. It could have been half an hour that she attended to him. It could have been an hour. She purred the whole time. He felt like he was floating, just about to fall into pleasure, but she never allowed him to quite go over the edge. He wanted to stay with his little kitten and this intense pleasure. But then she moved her mouth over the tip of sex and begin to suck and the pull deep in his sex surprised him.

He felt the need to be inside her. To release. To feed again.

"That's quite a mouth you have," he said lifting her up and pulling her on top of him. She fit perfectly, if tightly around him and he groaned in pleasure. She began to move slowly, rocking on his sex as she had on his fingers, nudging him toward climax. The buildup was so hypnotic that he threw his head back and rolled his hips in sync with her rhythms. When he opened his eyes he found her staring at him again, smiling knowingly.

"Pleasure?" she asked.

"Vampire hungry now," he answered pulling her off him and positioning himself to take her from behind. She clearly liked this position as she arched her back and presented herself to be penetrated. He plunged into her deeply feeling her heat and sex open up to him. Shifters were warm and this shifter was like a roaring fire on a cold winter's day. He heard her heart beat quicken and breath become jagged as she pushed back onto him. He reached around to rub her nub.

And then something happened that surprised him. She stopped moving. She just totally stopped as he played with her and pinched her nub and squeezed it. Slowly she began to sit up, so that he was still behind her, pushing into her sex, but the movements were smaller. His fangs were now close to her neck and he wanted desperately to bite her, but he held back. She grabbed his hand with one of own and showed him how to pinch her. He had been too gentle. She wanted it harder, and as soon as he squeezed just right he felt her melt.

"So kitten, shall I get you off?" he asked.

She moaned as his fingers increased speed and she began rocking her hips. He felt how close she was and he reached over to squeeze her nipple with same intensity as the hand down below. Two times more and she exploded, her sex spasming around him at a thousand pulses per minute. She groaned again, fell forward on to her hands and he bit down hard on her neck as the electricity coursed through her tight body.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's more of Bill and Amur. Enjoy.

This is Charlaine Harris's world; I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pinpricks: Chapter 4

"What mean Snoopie?" Amur asked as Bill rolled off her to collapse on his back on the bed.

"Snoopie?"

"Yes. You cry Snoopie in final moment."

Bill closed his eyes. It was true that he was not over Sookie, even though he made a conscious effort to put her out of his mind when she appeared there. Sometimes, working at his computer he would remember Sookie in the bath, particularly in the bath, and he would drift off in a golden moment of tasting her and pleasuring her in the warmth and steam. Eventually, he would look up at the computer and realize that he had lost 45 minutes. He knew it was unproductive and pointless as she was permanently bonded to Eric, his sheriff and boss, a 1000-year old Viking with a possessive streak and no scruples about maintaining his assets. But, what did vampires know if not loss. That was the price of immortality; everything around you crumbled to dust while you went on. He was determined to get over it. He had to. This new kitten would help him forget.

"Not important."

"Is it name?"

"The name of someone who doesn't matter anymore," he said reaching over to trace the pattern in the birthmark. "Your markings are striking. I can't stop staring at them."

"Very rare," she shrugged as if to say 'obviously' and began licking hands and arms. He watched her cleaning herself.

"You take good care of yourself," he said.

"Oh yes. Mother kept me long time. She taught me. I tired now," she said crawling to the corner of the bed and curling up. "You work now, OK."

"Yes." Bill got up and pulled the cover over her. Indeed, it was time for him to work and he felt more focused and alert than he had in many weeks. "I do feel like hitting the keyboard. In fact, I feel great."

As he was dressing he looked in the mirror to see that he had a slightly orange afterglow, so different from the pink tones his skin got after feeding from Sookie. He rubbed his chin and turned to look at Amur curled up at the foot of the bed. She had kicked the covers off and was breathing heavily. "You are an altogether different animal," he said.

That night he coded as he had not programmed in weeks. It was challenging but interesting. The difficulty would be determining the best algorithm to match the prospective blood spouse to their vampire. The questionnaire would take some work, as the connection between human and vampire should exist on many levels beyond just physical attraction gleaned from a photograph. It involved picking categories. What did a vampire want most in a potential human mate?

The next evening he rose early. And hungry. The house was completely quiet, too quiet. As he focused his acute hearing, he was surprised to find only muffled breathing and slight snoring coming from the large bedroom. He found her sleeping in the exact same place at the foot of the bed, although she had fully stretched out on her stomach, her head resting prettily on her folded arms.

"Wake up, kitten."

"Mmmm."

"Have you been sleeping here the whole day?"

"What is time?"

"6"

"In night?"

"That's a silly question," he said stroking her nose affectionately.

She laughed. "Yes, night time."

She got up on her hands and knees and stretched her shoulders up high, then bending and stretching her butt into the air. He found himself unable to resist stroking it. "Mmmm. Feel good," she said pushing her butt cheek into his hand.

"Are you a hungry girl?" he asked moving his hand behind her ear. She started to purr loudly. "Like that, do you? You need a little head scratch?

She looked at him, smiled and in a blink of an eye he found her, naked except for the thigh-high stockings, in his lap. She rubbed her head against his chest, purring.

"Affectionate, aren't you? Let's get you some dinner."

In the kitchen, she kneeled beside him as he unwrapped a half-pound of shrimp. As the briny smell permeated the room, she began crawling around excitedly, twining herself between his legs.

"Cut that out. You're going to knock me over," he said. "How much of this should I give you? I'll give you half, if you want more you'll let me know."

He pulled out a plate, set it on the counter and scooped a pile of raw shrimp with their tails on to it. Then he went to get a bottle of True Blood from the refrigerator and popped it in the microwave. As it was heating, he placed the plate on the table with a knife and fork. He grabbed the True Blood and sat down in his normal seat. Amur watched expectantly, her eyes following his every move, perking up when he set the plate down. Then, no one moved.

"Come on up," he said patting the chair.

She looked bored.

"Don't you want dinner? Come on, pretty kitty, pretty-pretty kitty."

She turned away and began examining and licking her hands.

"You want to eat on the floor, do you?"

She got on her hands and knees and stretched her chest into the air.

"OK, you win," he said placing the plate near her. She purred as she went in to feed.

And that was how it was for a week. He would rise, feed her on the floor, drink a true blood, wait while she cleaned herself, then play with her for two or three hours. The play would always end with sex, but sometimes it would begin quite innocently with him throwing a stuffed mouse for her or her frisking around his legs in the yard. She was nocturnal. As far as he could tell she slept most of the day, every day, although by the second day he rose to find her sleeping outside, which he deduced was because she liked the sun. Her smell was even more intoxicating when he found her on the grass at the edge of the woods.

Her sex play was creative. She was definitely in control and she seemed to have a million tricks up her sleeve. The second night, after thoroughly cleaning herself, she positioned herself on her side, with one leg between his and one leg thrown over his shoulder as he entered her. It allowed him to feed on her foot, which surprisingly he had never done before but found to be a delicate morsel. The position also made him slow down and suck the blood more powerfully, as holding her leg up reduced its blood flow. This prolonged his release. The third night he found her in his bed dressed like a little girl with knee socks, a tiny skirt, a puffy-sleeved blouse that did not cover her belly, and no panties. She was holding a whip.

"Such a bad girl," she said handing it to him with a wide-eyed expression.

"Yes, you are," he said laughing as he pulled her up to him.

The fifth night she requested that he tie her hands and feet and put a blindfold on her. "You take me tonight. Every place." she said positioning herself on her knees with her chest on the bed. "Make me beg."

Bill had to stop then. He was feeling many things, too many things. The first thing was an almost overwhelming arousal. The second thing was hesitation. He suspected he was entering into territory from which he would not be able to pull back. Once he got a taste of this new darker pleasure he would not be the same. There was also a slight feeling of disgust. He suspected that he, unlike most vampires, had a harder time shaking off the morality that had been an unassailable guide during his human life. Still, he was clearly not human and felt ravenous seeing her bound and prone. Was she shivering? Was she cold or was she afraid? The thought of her vulnerability thrilled him and he reached down to feel his sex swollen to breaking with blood. What was this new feeling? It was totally delicious. Suddenly, it came to him: power.

"Does this bring you pleasure? he asked softly."

"Oh, yes," she answered. "Favorite way."

"Well then, who am I to deny you?" he said brushing a finger against her glossy sex.

He positioned himself in front of her placing two hands gently on either side of her face. He lifted her head so that her mouth was positioned over him and slowly let it come down. Her raspy tongue, which had brought him so much enjoyment over the past days, seemed engorged. He continued these motions almost tenderly, but with each pump he went deeper into her throat and closer to his own pleasure. He was careful not to allow himself release. He wanted to savor this new feeling, experiment with it, wear it comfortably. He pulled her off of him and allowed her to graze her tiny fangs ever so gently over his tip.

She looked up at him, "I yours, Master."

"What did you call me?"

"You my Master."

He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it was and how good it felt at the same time. It was no wonder that many vampires considered their existence to be the life of the Gods. He felt a freedom in the total possession of this female - who was so much more than human - and her willingness made it all the sweeter. He would never glamour, guzzle and discard a fangbanger again. Oh no. His taste had improved. This was top shelf, grade A, pick of the litter and there was no going back.

"Well, if I am Master, I will take my pleasure."

"I want," she said waggling her ass.

It was too much. He was behind her in a flash. He hesitated for one moment at the brink, looking down at his sex and hers.

"You are so beautiful," he said.

"Please take me," she whispered turning to look at him.

"Yes, that's it. Beg," he chuckled. It was so silly and so much fun. Then, he pushed into her.

He untied her after it was over and he had fed deeply. She lay panting on her back. "That was good. Now you real vampire."

"Wasn't I a 'real vampire' before?" Bill asked feeling only slightly offended.

"Yes but no. You not take power. Maybe Snoopie steal power. Real vampire always have power. For vampire power is, how you say, pleasure, pleasure is power."

"I never thought of it like that," he said.

"Vampire master. Vampire give pleasure to human or keep pleasure from human. You pleasure me, so I not always hungry."

"Do you want to be hungrier?"

"Hungry kitty more,… what is word?… interesting," she said.

"I fear to know what you consider more interesting than what we have been doing."

"Vampire know what human like. Human like tongue on body. Other human like kinky," She paused and asked, "What I like?" turning on her side to face him.

"Well, let's see. You seem to love yourself in thigh-high stockings, which I'm learning to love as well."

"What else?"

"You love touch."

"Yes. Good vampire. Soon we hunt," she said rolling on her back and rubbing one leg against the other.

The thought of that was simultaneously so exciting and so scary that Bill was struck speechless. Luckily, the telephone rang. Amur picked up the extension on the night table behind her, never taking her eyes off of Bill as she handed it to him. Saved by the bell.

"It is Eric."

Bill fell back on the bed and guffawed.

"Hello, anyone there?" came the small voice out of the receiver.

"Sorry," said Bill.

"I fail to understand what is so funny about me announcing my presence."

"My apologies, master," said Bill.

"Yes, master," Amur said wiggling her eyebrows. Bill reached out to stroke her cheek.

"I need you to report to Fangtasia in the next two hours. I have scheduled a meeting with two database administrators in Houston. You're booked on the Anubis night flight. You have a room ready at Hotel V, which has excellent mattresses by the way. You will have to tell me if they are good as advertised when you return."

"How long?"

"Tonight, tomorrow night, and you return the day after tomorrow."

"Why now?"

"Because it worked out that they are in Houston and willing to show you and train you on the database now. But I must know, Bill, is it your place to ask these questions?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Come immediately. We have a few things to discuss before you go."

"What about Amur?"

"Who is Amur?"

"The pus..., I mean the cat. She can't be alone that long. I don't have food for her"

"So that is her name? Don't worry about the cat. I'll send someone over to feed her and let her out."


	5. Chapter 5

Eric and Bill converse. Bill is warned.

This is Charlaine Harris's world; I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pinpricks: Chapter 5

"Look at this Bill. I can get every channel. I can watch the activity on the floor of the Hong Kong stock exchange, if I want. There is every sport, every monster movie," Eric said waggling his eyebrows. "There's a show on Norse fishing, for God's sake."

Bill had arrived to find Eric stretched out on the office sofa watching what seemed like one of the biggest flat screens he had ever seen.

"You summoned me."

"The best thing Bill is this, however," said Eric clicking over to the extreme fighting and sitting forward. Look at these warriors. They almost kill each other, they really do. There are no rules. I love it when they get down to the struggle on the mat. Look at that. It looks like that warrior is going to gouge his opponent's eye out with his thumb. Uh, never mind. The referee won't allow it. I suppose there are some rules."

"You indicated that we must speak."

Eric paused for a moment and then he turned his intense eyes to Bill full bore. "How are you enjoying having a pet?"

Bill smiled weakly.

"Tell me Bill, is she as frisky as she seems?"

"She is skilled. She is professional." Bill sat quietly.

"Oh, Bill. Tell me more. Do not make me beg," Eric said with brooding eyes.

"A Southern gentleman does not kiss and tell."

"But, Bill, you may be a gentleman, but first and foremost you are a vampire. Moreover, I want to know if I am getting my money's worth. If you knew how much I have spent on her, you would film your sex play for repeat viewing," he said rolling his eyes.

Bill was silent.

"She is Russian correct?"

"Yes.

Amur leopard then?"

"Yes!"

"Compton you must feel the most valued employee at Fangtasia. They have a reputation for being," and he pressed his thumb and forefinger together, "this close to deviant."

On the large screen, one extreme fighter kicked the other in the back of the knees and his opponent went down hard.

Alright, he thought, if he wanted to hear about it, he was going to make him squirm. "She embodies sex. It's not just what she does, it's who she is. She reeks of it. Every movement makes me think of it. She eats and I want to fuck her. She moves to another chair and I want to fuck her. She can go from innocent delight to hardcore submission in a matter of seconds." And here he hesitated. "There is no sexual fantasy that she won't perform. She has taken me to many new places and I love them all. Have you ever played with an exotic Eric? Because if you had you would know just how pleasurable it is."

"And your work?" Eric, ever practical, had his eye on the bottom line.

"She sates me, so my head is clear. There is no worrying about my next feed as I can do it as deeply and as many times as I need. I am working faster than I ever have."

They both leaned back in their chairs. "Well Bill. That is interesting," said Eric his face inscrutable. "In fact, I have had a dalliance or two with a big cat. There was a mountain lion from Wyoming who was quite strong. She always gave me a good workout. And, oh my goodness, what a tongue! For decades I could not have sex with anyone else without thinking about her."

"Is that why you have brought Amur here? Are you trying to make me forget Sookie?"

Eric was silent. Ha, thought Bill. Finally, peace from his infernal questions, but Eric's honesty surprised him.

"Of course, Bill. That is what I am trying to do. Why else would I give you a pet like that? Was that not obvious from the beginning? I am surprised to find you so deeply entranced with the leopard, if your intention is to keep your relationship with Sookie alive. Perhaps, you are ready to forget Sookie."

"I will not forget her. We are bonded."

Eric jumped up pounding on the desk. "No Bill. She is MINE." He stood there for a second, caught himself and allowed a friendly expression come over his face. "Surely Bill, the leopard is a peace offering. The cash outlay alone must indicate that your services here are highly valued. There are big things ahead, big money making opportunities before us. Think of it: me as CEO, you as chief technology officer. We could make a killing. But, we must bury the stake."

"I have sensed your hunger to increase your business holdings," said Bill.

"Do you want, how do the Americans say it? - 'a piece of the action'?"

"I have always admired your entrepreneurial creativity," answered Bill nervously.

"Compton, that is the first compliment you have ever paid me. I think I might cry."

"You are perverted."

"Another compliment," Eric moved to the front of the desk to stand in front of Bill. "Be patient. Time heels all wounds, and the one thing we have is plenty of time," he laughed. "But you must make the decision to forget her. We can never truly work together unless you let her go."

On the screen the referee walked a tank-like man around the ring with his arm raised. Again, Bill was silent. Eric moved back to his seat behind his desk.

"What are your instructions for the cat?"

"She eats raw steak, raw shrimp and fresh cream – preferably organic."

"That is all?"

"Yes, and have the pet sitter feed her on the floor. She just will not get up on the chair to eat at the table, although I am going to work on that when I get back."

"She is a little savage. I should have known that when she scratched me."

"Yes, why did she scratch you?"

"I have no idea. I walked to my office and she came at me with claws drawn. I had never seen her before in my life. Inquire for me, will you?"

"It wouldn't do any good. She has, as she says 'little English.' She doesn't speak the language that well, so I'm not sure she would understand an interrogation.

"Little English? OK, I will inform the pet sitter to speak slowly," said Eric. "There is just one other thing Bill."

"What is that?"Bill asked.

"Don't you wonder why vampires and shifters don't form long term bonds?"

"I hadn't thought about it."

"You almost never see it, and for good reason. Shifters are highly addictive."

"What do you mean highly addictive?"

"I mean addictive as heroine is to a human. No scratch that, addictive like crack cocaine," said Eric. "Make sure you feed on a human while you are in Houston. You would be wise to clear her from your system before you get back, if you plan to play for too much longer. And frankly Bill, I do not know how much longer I can afford to subsidize your pet."

"I am not worried."

"I am glad to hear that Bill, but remember that I warned you. Have a safe flight to Houston. I will see you when you return."


	6. Chapter 6

Before you read this, watch Annie Lenox sing Dark Road on youtube. It's Amur's theme song and it sets the mood. This chapter takes place the very next night at Bill's while he's away. Eric meets Amur and is forced to address his past. He then makes Amur address her future.

This is Charlaine Harris's world; I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

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Pinpricks: Chapter 7

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," whispered Eric the next night as he walked up the porch to Bill's front door. He tucked a small wooden box with holes in it and the bag of groceries under his arm as he fiddled with the key. He heard the lock unclick and he let the door swing wide to the large entryway of the old house. He saw her immediately. She was curled up on the couch in the room Bill called the parlor. Eric moved to it silently and set the box down beside it with a small whoosh. She was wearing one of Bill's old shirts with black-and-white striped, thigh-high stockings. Her hair was piled loosely on her head with and ribbon and tendrils strayed around her face.

She was pretty in a petite, lithe way. Her copper body was lean. All those cats were athletic, whether big or small and he imagined the little kitty rippling herself all over him. The birthmark intrigued him. He sat on the arm of the chair and gently lifted her collar to get a better view. She did not move any other part of her body, but her hand shot out across his lap. In a nanosecond he had both of her hands trapped behind her head, her back pressed up against couch, and his other hand around her throat.

"Ahhhgggg," she gurgled.

"Kitty, you would be wise to calm down, or I will rip your arms off," said Eric calmly as she hissed in his face. "Or maybe, I should rip out your tongue, but then what would you do for a living?"

His years as a practiced killer kicked in and he let her expend herself struggling against him. Finally she stopped moving. "You would probably enjoy it," she said as his grip loosened.

"Probably? Uh oh, little English. I knew that was a ruse on your part the minute Bill told me you could not speak the language. Not talking speeds up the process, I suppose. Once upon a fairy tale it even worked on me."

"Get your hands off me, Viking."

He moved his hand from her throat resting it on her chest. "My, what big eyes you have," he said. The addictive sparkle of those eyes and the dancing flecks in the irises were apparent to him, even tantalizing. But, he had had his time with shifters and he knew how high they took a vampire and how far they would let him fall. "Too bad they do nothing for me." She was silent letting him look at her. His eyes were blue ice. He could see her concentrating, focusing her sexual energy on him, sticking up her chest a little bit, but he would not let her work her magic.

Eventually, she relaxed. "I was told that you always stink like fairy. And, so it is true. You reek of it. Connor would be amused to find your tastes have not changed in 300 years," she spat. Her accent was much less pronounced.

How do you know Connor Smith?" he asked his eyes turning darker blue.

"From when I was little girl," she said.

"Well that tells me something," Eric said loosening his grip and drawing back from her throat. He still had hold of her wrists. "How did you manage to extricate yourself from that situation?"

"How do you think?" She was still annoyed, but he felt the tension begin to leave her arms.

"So you were born to the profession."

"Child prodigy," she said coldly.

"Having you must be quite a decadent adventure."

"So I have been told."

He found himself snared by her eyes again, but managed to look down. "I am here because I must alter the terms of our contract," he said.

"The deal is $15,000 for first week, $5,000 every week after that. If you want out, I leave before Bill gets back. You pay first week fee and we finish. Goodbye Viking."

"How is Bill reacting to your….therapy sessions?"

"He is quick study. He has good aim."

"And how is it for you?"

Amur raised an eyebrow at the unforeseen question. "He is my type." What she didn't say was that she found Bill to have an almost poetic sexuality. Despite, his inexperience he knew how to repeat the movements and gestures that pleased her, just when to lick her throat or touch her nipple. He had an ear for the sounds she made as she came closer to her release, and he had quickly learned when to groan or say a dirty word that pushed her over the edge. His weakness was rhythm and meter, and that was what she was there for.

"Good. I am a firm believer that we all do our best work when we get up to a job we enjoy," said Eric. "And _his_ work?"

"He works all night, unless we play."

"Even better." Eric looked in her eyes. "What about his emotional state?"

"You mean Snoopie?"

Eric threw his head back and roared. "Yes, I mean Snoopie. Does he call her name? Do you find him crying to himself pathetically in the corner?"

"He forget more every day."

He sized her up. "In one week, my goodness! You have broken through a blood bond. Well done. You came highly recommended, but now I see that they didn't do you justice."

He detected the faint hint of a smile on her lips. "Let me go and I show you justice."

"Yes I am aware that you want my head. You have already committed one blood offense against me, which I must remind you went gallantly unpunished."

"Oh, you would like it. I turn pain into pleasure for you. You just float away."

"As much as I would like to hear you purr, little kitten, if you think I will be manipulated into taking you for a ride you are sorely mistaken. I gave up the hard stuff years ago and you, my dear, are serious doojee."

"Tell me, you still keep fairy tied to bed post so that you can fuck her and drain her within an inch of life every night? Does she beg you to end her life?"

"Reports about me have been exaggerated," he said looking down again.

"But there is some truth. I come from house you built. I was born there. I know what made you and who you really are. "

"And that is why you hate me? It seems extreme."

"For that and for fighting ring you ran. I lost my brother in this ring, and you are responsible."

"Well that is food for thought. Your complaint, if true, might be legitimate, but in the end what difference does it make?"

She began to struggle again. He put his hand back up to her throat. "Uh, uh. You are a long way from home, having accepted a job through a Dallas broker that cared much more for her commission than she did for your well-being. Without question you had to have known that this would be a potentially dangerous, simply by the amount of money involved. You and I both know it is the corrupted who pay the most. But you came willingly. Why? The answer: money. Is it not ironic how that is almost always the answer? You desperately need money for some reason, and I am in a position to provide you with what you need. So, let us put our differences aside and work together. You may find out that I am not so bad. After all, why would you come work for me, if you didn't think it would be safe?"

"I had never heard name Eric Northman. In Colorado you are 'the Viking."

"Oh, now I see," he said. Slowly he loosened his grip around her wrists, even though he was still holding her down with his body. "Well?" he asked.

"So what is deal?"

"I want you to take Bill's blood."

"Are you mad? You know that is dangerous for him and I want no tie to vampire."

"I fear it is the only way to fix his emotional state."

"You exchange one poison for another."

"Yes, but you are the evil I know about, and how shall I say this, it is the only full-proof way for him to move on from his past. Any other way would take far too long. You two already have a strong connection. I want him bound to you."

"I will not do it.

"I will pay $12,000 for each regular week, $12,000 for the transformation."

She sputtered. "You want him to fuck me during full moon?"

"Indeed I do. And I want you to submit to a transformation ceremony. A vampire ceremony."

"You joke."

"I promise I will have it annulled immediately afterward.

"No."

"OK then. We will, as the Americans say, play hard ball," he said grabbing her wrists and straddling her. He guessed that he weighed twice as much as she did as he pressed down on her with his body. "Comfortable, darling?"

She squirmed and made muffled protest against his chest.

"Here's how it is. Amazingly, you were born in Colorado and you got out. It has one of the tightest security systems in the world, and the only other creatures I know that have gotten out paid heavily for it in physical damage and mental breakdown. You, on the other hand, are completely unscathed. In fact, you seem to have taken everything you learned at home and put it to lucrative use out here in the big, bad world. Clearly, you are very intelligent and incredibly cunning. You are just what I need. Now, I know how much it costs to buy the freedom of a Colorado slave, and I'm betting that you want the money to do just that. That's why you need the money badly and you need it quickly. Am I correct?"

He pulled back from her and she gasped for air. "Maybe I just want to invest in new business venture," she hacked.

"It is possible, but my instincts say no. You are a little too desperate for me to believe it. Normally, it takes at least a month to break through a blood bond and you've done it in a matter of days. Why the need for speed?"

"What can I say," she responded with a shrug. "It is gift."

"Yes, I can sense how gifted you are from here," he said feeling the unmistakable shifter heat through his thighs. "So, here is the deal. If you bond with Bill, I will pay you $10,000 for each regular week and $15,000 for the transformation. I will also pledge to help you, in whatever way I can, to get your friend, or whoever it is, out of Colorado. You have my oath."

"If it takes two weeks, that is only $1000 more than previous offer, and how do I know you are telling truth?"

"Because I will file the contract in Las Vegas. If I do not meet the terms, you will be entitled to a payoff in the amount that would set your friend free."

"One more question, before I make decision. Why Bill Compton? He is not your child. Is he such wonderful employee?"

"I don't owe you an explanation for my actions. Let us just say that I will owe you a big, fat check for services rendered, no matter how it turns out."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"And there's one more thing. You will take Bill hunting during your time with him. I suspect he needs to sharpen his skills."

"That is already part of package."

"Excellent. I love good value for my money. So we are agreed?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful," he said getting up off of her. "To show you how much I appreciate us coming to this agreement, I brought you a little gift. He pulled the box up to shake it gently. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

He saw the fire light up in her eyes and her tongue dart out to lick her lips. He had to admit little fangs were terribly cute. He set the box down on the floor and unlatched a side flap. Slowly, with whiskers twitching and nose wiggling, out came a snow white rat. Amur gasped and clasped her hands to her chest with glee.

"Mousie," she whispered in what sounded close to sexual release.

"Yes," said Eric smiling as he leaned back on the couch with his hands behind his head."Have fun."

"Oh, I will have more than fun," she said crouching down on her hands and knees, locking eyes on the rodent. First her ass twitched back and forth and then she was after it chasing it madly around the room. She bumped into a chair that the mouse skidded under, got up and threw the chair into the hallway. Finally, she had it cornered by the fireplace.

"Can you smell it?" she asked.

"What?" asked Eric

"It knows fear," she breathed.

She grabbed the mouse with her teeth, rocked up in the air and threw the mouse over her head. She caught it again with her teeth, shaking it violently back and forth. After a few more times in the air, she finally placed it between her hands to bat it back and forth. Just before the mouse drew its last breath, she picked it up, ripped open its stomach and disemboweled it.

"I needed that," she said the blood dripping down her chin.

Throughout this performance Eric found himself leaning forward. Throwing the chair had made him laugh hysterically, but now that she was feeding he was reminded of his own hunger. He must get to Sookie soon. Resisting Amur for this long had taken a great deal of strength. What was worse was that Amur was now removing the mouse's internal organs and lovingly placing them in a line next to the carcass. When that was completed she took the bloody mouse and rubbed it all over her chest, on her neck and behind her ears. She noticed him watching her, got up and sat herself at his feet purring.

"See pretty kitten, I'm not so bad."

She looked up at him and blinked slowly. That made time stop for a second. Eric looked down to find her hand in his. He felt slightly dizzy.

"So now you must make a gesture to seal the deal," he said.

"Anything," she purred.

"I want a taste."

She bent her head to expose her neck.

"That looks delicious, but I fear it would be unwise. I will drink from your hand instead," he said.

She held it up to him to bite.

"Oh, no. There will be no biting. That would be the end of me and possibly you too, kitten," he said brushing her nose with his finger. He took out a pocket knife from his front pocket. "Touch yourself first," he commanded.

She reached under her panties spreading her sex with her hand, covering it with her feral smell. Then she slashed a deep gash on the outside edge of her palm, squeezing it with her other hand until the blood welled up. She held it up for him to lick.

Eric took it to his lips, smelling it first and the brushing his lips in the blood. "Oh, this is quite nice," he said with closed eyes. "Do I taste oranges? And is that Russian oak? Wait there is a definitely an undertone of some kind of flower."

"Landyshev," she said. "What you call Lilly of the Valley.

"Gorgeous," he said licking her hand clean. The cut began to close and he dropped it onto her lap. He sighed. "I am glad to see that Bill will be getting my money's worth."

He got up to leave, pulling a packet out of his pocket and throwing it on her lap. "Oh, yes. I got these Nepees for you. Use them sparingly. Catnip cigarettes are hard to come by around here. By the way, you have mouse fur in your teeth."

As he neared the front door he gave himself a mental pat on the back. That had been hard to resist, harder for him because he knew the depths possible with a creature like that. But, he had prevailed. Now all he had to do was get to Sookie and she was just across the cemetery. Or, at least he hoped she was.

"Next time, bring a bird," he heard her say as the door shut behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

Eric/Sookie. Highly sexual content.

This is Charlaine Harris's world; I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

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Pinpricks: Chapter 7.5

She was home, thank the Gods. At least her ugly car was in front and the lights were on. He sped to the front door, sniffed the air, determined that she was in the living room and whooshed in to sit beside her. She almost jumped out of her skin.

"Don't do that," she yelped.

"Hello, lover."

"Eric." She wrinkled her nose. "You smell funny."

"Is that any way to greet your bonded? I have been working," he replied. "Perhaps, you could get me a drink."

"Oh, where are my manners?"

She jumped up from the couch where she had been watching TV in PJ bottoms and a tank top. She had just showered and her hair had that freshly washed, powdery smell he loved. She popped a True Blood in the microwave, waited for the bing, and then brought it to him on the couch.

"Here you go."

"That was not the drink I was talking about," he said popping open the top and downing the whole bottle in one gulp.

"You can't be serious. If you think you can just whip in here and feed on me without so much as a by your leave, you have another thing coming."

"I need to be clean," he said taking off his jacket and walking to the bathroom. He turned on the faucets and took of his clothes, dumping them on the floor. When the water was the right temperature, he got in. He let his muscles relax, rolling his head from side to side, enjoying the water rise over his legs, then his stomach. Sookie came in and leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed in front of her.

"You do realize that this is my house," she said.

He sighed. "Sookie, do you really want to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Fight over some aspect of our relationship where you feel like I am taking your independence whenever I want to fuck you and bite you, and then you eventually give in and grab my butt and we do fuck. Because, I do not have the energy for it this evening. I am sorry, my lover, but my strength was sorely tested earlier. And tested, believe it or not, on your account."

"What did you just say?"

"Not that I mind your resistance usually. The struggle always makes the final surrender that much sweeter." He looked at her his eyes icing over and his teeth clenching. "Just not tonight."

She marched over to the bathtub, uncrossed her arms and dropped her wrist in front of his face. "Here," she said.

"Really, Sookie?" he asked taking her hand lovingly in his. "After the battle in Rhodes, the witch war, and our bonding you begrudgingly offer me your wrist so that I can dry feed. If that is the case, I can find that sort of satisfaction at Fangtasia any night of the week." He looked up at her, his eyes softening. "Surely, we have a deeper connection than that."

Through his hand Sookie felt the emotions trickle then flow into her. She found herself sitting on a little stool beside the tub with her eyes closed.

"I sense frustration, almost a thwarting. There's annoyance at what feels like Bill. But mostly I feel a yearning for blood, more than the usual. You're ravenous," she said opening her eyes and thanking her word of the day calendar.

"That is correct. I am very hungry, and that is rare for an old vampire. I need you to nourish me without the usual fuss. Can you do that?"

"Of course," she said with soft eyes.

"Wonderful," he said and then in an instant he had pulled her on top of him in the bathtub with her clothes still on. "My most beloved."

"Eric, you are a troublemaker," she said.

"Yes, but would you want me any other way?" he asked grinning.

"Probably not," and then she gasped because as slid two cool fingers into her sex.

"By the goddess Gersemi, you feel so… ripe. I wish I could just climb inside you and live there."

"You want to live in my hootchie? You do need food."

Eric roared with laughter. "That's what I love about you Sookie. You make me laugh." He sat up, sloshing water on the floor. He grabbed her face in his hands. "In all seriousness, now, Sookie. You are the light in my life and my one true love. You know that and feel that?"

"Yes, Eric. What is the matter?"

"In your sex and in your heart?"

"Of course, you are my … dear one," she said looking in his sparkling eyes. "Are we getting married here?"

"And you would allow me to explain myself, if something came to light about my past? You would be inclined to forgive?"

Now Sookie was all ears, kneeling in the water with her hands over his hands on either side of her face. "What have you done Eric? Please don't break my…."

"… I've killed men, vampires, weres, and many others. I have enjoyed to the death competitions. I have lain with many women. I will manipulate when needed."

"And?" she asked begging him with her eyes.

"I have tortured my enemies and taken pleasure in it."

"And?"

"Is that not enough?"

"I know all that." Sookie relaxed.

"Has someone informed you of my past?"

"No. I just assumed all that was true from the get go. I didn't think you got to be the badass sheriff of Area 5 without cracking a few heads along the way."

"Badass! I like that."

"And something about your technique tells me you are not a virgin"

Eric laughed. "Am I a badass in the bedroom?" he asked.

"You could say that, but I wouldn't repeat that outside of this room."

"Oh, so I am an admitted badass only in your house," he said kissing her nose and her forehead and each of her eyes.

"But why are you telling me this. What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said pulling her back on top of him and running the hot water with this big toe. "Nothing, yet."

"Do you have a feeling?"

"No, Sookie, I do not have feelings the way you do. It is just that there are many things happening.

"Many balls in the air?"

"Exactly, many balls in the air and I do not know when one will knock another one down to the ground."

They were silent for a moment. Then Eric asked, "Do you remember how I begged you to yield to me when you took me to that ridiculous orgy."

"Yes."

"I knew I would bond with you then, you know."

Sookie chuckled.

"Will you yield to me tonight? I need you to do so, Sookie. I mean give yourself to me completely."

"Of course," she answered looking in his eyes. "Gran always said that you can see when a person is hurting by the wrinkles above their nose, and you're all scrunched up," she said smoothing his forehead.

"Let us go to bed," he said.

"Yes, lets."

Sookie pulled the drain open and stood up. Eric stood up and pulled off her wet tank top. She stepped out of the sodden PJs. She pulled a freshly washed towel off of the pile and began to rub his chest, lifting to dry under his arms and turned him around to rub his back. She toweled off his butt in smooth strokes enjoying that part of him, then down his thighs. She turned him around rubbing up his legs until she reached his sex. With that she tugged on him gently with the towel still wrapped around her hand. His eyes were closed and he was rocking forward with every pull. He moaned.

"Good?" she asked.

"So nice," he said and shook himself to look at her. He kissed her deeply. "I want to fall into your eyes, my lovely one." He stepped out of the tub and finished toweling himself off. Sookie remained and wrung out her hair in the water. He turned to look at her his eyes glowing. "There is a famous painting of Venus, Venus Anadyomene. I swear you are her incarnation. Someday, I will take you to see it."

Sookie blushed throwing her clothes in the sink.

Eric wrapped a towel around her and picked her up throwing her over his shoulder.

"Eeek," she laughed. "Don't you know you should pick me up like a lady?"

"I do not want a lady in the bed tonight," he said dropping her on the bed with a small bounce. "I want my woman."

With that he was on her kissing her. Then his face was buried inhaling her sex. Then again, quick as a wink, he was kissing her deeply until she was breathless. At last, he bit her on the nipple and sucked deeply, slipping his fingers into her sex stroking the sensitive spot inside her. Finally, almost regretfully, he pulled off of her. "Let's go slow," he said. "Come lay down by my side."

"Do you feel better?" she said.

"Yes, but I need more," he answered.

He lay down behind Sookie caressing the indentation of her waste, trailing his finger along her hips. He lifted up her leg, bending it gently back against her hip. He began to stroke her nub delicately, sometimes squeezing it, sometimes circling it slowly. She moaned and began to roll her hips. His sex grew harder as he felt arousal course along the bond in hot pink streaks. He slipped one finger inside her, pulled it out and plunged in two. He felt her sex suck at his fingers as he toyed with her. It was starting to swell. Suddenly, he plunged a finger into her other, darker hole.

She stopped moving, tense. "What are you doing?"

"It is alright, Sookie. Relax."

"It's going to hurt."

"No it is not. I would never hurt you." She twitched slightly.

Eric was resting his head on his bent arm and he stretched it so that his mouth was up against Sookie's ear. He whispered. "Don't move dear one. It will only hurt if you are tense. If you relax, it will feel so good." He moved his finger slightly insider her. Bright yellow and orange flashed across the bond.

"Aaannhh," she moaned.

"Is that good or bad? I cannot tell."

"I'm scared."

"No need. This is what I meant when I said you must surrender. The more you clamp down, the more it will hurt. The more you relax, the better it will feel."

Sookie stretched her leg out and took a deep breath in.

"Breath out," he whispered and began to ever so gently pull his finger out and slide it back in.

"Aaannhh," she moaned again. The colors flashed hotter, the orange became redder.

"That is a good sound," he chuckled. "You are relaxing. That is good."

"I feel so vulnerable."

"You _are_ vulnerable. That is the point. If you can trust me, I will bring you unimaginable pleasure." He pushed his finger in deeper, maintaining the same pace.

"Can I touch myself?"

"Oh yes."

"Wooooo." Sookie exhaled softly. Plum and red colored bands of light began to move across their bond. "It feels so new."

Then he pushed two fingers into the part of her that was dark and longing and she cried out pushing her head back exposing more of her neck. He was desperate to bite, but he held back wanting to finish her first. "Sshhhh, my sweet one," he said maintaining the same pace. "I feel you opening to me."

He felt a tiny movement as she started to grind against his hand. This is what he wanted and the reason he had not fed from Amur. This bond was not to be sullied or cheated. He wanted so much to be inside Sookie's tightness, where she held her fear fast and still closed herself off from him. She was his mythic Venus and he would penetrate that dark place and pleasure her there. He would lay her open and no part of her body or her soul would be denied him. The bond flashed hot red completely.

"Are you ready, Sookie."

"I don't know," she whimpered.

"No fear, brave one," he said and grabbed her hip, thrusting hard up into her.

"Aaahhhh," she cried panting with ragged, ragged breath. "Oh my god, Eric, it hur…"

"Sshhh, my sweet one," he whispered. "Relax."Now that he was inside her and his hand was free it would be easier.

"Please stop," she begged. Instantly, all movement ceased. "I need to just lie with this a minute."

"Of course," he said. They were both silent and still for 15 seconds.

"You are throbbing."

"It cannot be helped."

Another 20 seconds passed, he felt her ease around his sex. "You are patient," she said.

"I love you," he shrugged. "You are giving me your soul tonight. I am happy to be patient."

"Can you stay still while I do the moving?"

"With pleasure," he responded.

So, Sookie closed her eyes and concentrated on what she was feeling. This was a something she had never felt before caused by an act that she had never done before. She was exposed, defenseless. From childhood on, her ability had kept her from being this open. Maybe she had never allowed herself to be this vulnerable. It was freeing to let her guard down. Never again would she wonder what it was like to be filled with a man, possessed, pleasured. Well, not exactly pleasured. It had been so shocking that it hurt, at first. But Eric was right. It wasn't really painful once the body adjusted. It was only unknown. She began to move ever so gingerly, ever so slightly, rolling against his sex. With each rotation she felt her muscles untighten and the pleasure increase.

"May I?" he asked.

"Go slow," she said.

He too began to move, pitching gently into her in sync with her rolling swells. "Hmmmm," he sighed. He let her guide the intensity and pace. As the movements became bigger he plunged deeper. When she slowed down, he pulled back so that just his tip was inside her. He lifted her leg again, bending it back against her hip stroking her sex. They were perfect dance partners, electrified by the orange-red bond that was flashing with tiny yellow sparkles.

"Hhaa, Hhhaaaaa," came her response. She rocked from side to side against his sex.

"Does it feel good now?" he asked. "She was grinding against his hand and he was sliding slowly, but deeply in and out of her.

"Too good," she whimpered. He pinched her nub between his thumb and forefinger. "I'm going to come," she said. He clenched his teeth, held back, and kept the rhythm feeling her spasms milking his sex as she exploded.

"Oh, my girl."

"I'm flying," she whispered.

The hunger was almost overwhelming him. "I'm going to mount you now, Sookie. Don't be scared." He rolled her up on all fours in what felt like slow motion, keeping himself inside her. He looked down at his spectacular creature, she was so prone and so beautiful, and he felt overcome by lust. He reached down to run his hands over her breasts and touch her nipples. "Would you like to come again," he asked.

"Yes. Oh, yes."

From this position he could feel every inch of himself impaling her sex. She rolled her hips and he met her movements, pumping hard with a profound downreaching to push all of himself into her. He grabbed her hair and pulled her up onto her knees holding the front of her throat with his left hand. "Eric, my love," he heard as his right hand grabbed her hip.

"I am so close," he whispered.

"Please, bite me," she implored.

She came, arching her back. He came in hot white flashes with her sex pulling tight and tighter and him riding out the pleasure in a long, slow blood draw from the back of her shoulder.

They collapsed onto the bed still connected. She seemed to grab for air.

"Are you alright, my sweet one."

"Don't pull out."

"No?"

"Never."

He laughed. "Sookie, I have to say that I think you yielded to me there. You can pretend no longer. You are mine, mine, mine."

"That was amazing," she agreed.

"Bill may have had the first meal, but I think you feed me a richer diet."

"I can't believe that after all that, it's still a competition for you, and you are thinking about Bill."

"I'm a vampire," and he shrugged.


	8. Chapter 8

During the writing of this chapter, I listened to "One Sweet Love" by Sara Bareilles. It helped me focus Amur's emotional development. You might take a listen after or before.

Also, thank you so much for your comments. They make me want to write again. I had basically abandoned creative writing until I stumbled upon this fanfiction community, and from childhood being a creative writer was the thing I told myself I would become. I am honored that you are enjoying these pages. Working with these characters is a gift.

And again, because it bears repeating…

This is Charlaine Harris's world; I just play in it. All characters are her inventions and everything here is written for fun NOT for profit. I publish by the grace, goodwill and generosity of Charlaine Harris. Thank you, Mrs. Harris, for creating this fantastic world. Please don't sue.

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Chapter 8

"My mind is bent to tell of bodies changed into new forms." Ovid, _Metamorphoses_

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Eric finally extricated himself. Sookie hugged herself as she heard him in the shower cleaning himself for a few moments and then heard sounds from the kitchen. Eric returned with a shallow enamel basin filled with steaming water and a washcloth.

"Kneel here," he said gesturing to the edge of the bed. "Up a little, darling. Yes, that is it."

Eric placed the basin on the nightstand, dipped the washcloth in the water and rang it out. He wrapped Sookie's arms around his neck. Then he reached his hand up under her sex behind her and ran the washcloth over her. He felt her lean into the warmth and press her forehead against his as he repeated the motion spreading her cheeks and sex further with each pass.

"My lover," he whispered. "I like to think that you are mine, but I am afraid I am _your_ slave. You have possessed me."

"Eric," she breathed. "That feels so good."

"I am glad. I want it all to feel good."

Sookie chuckled. "You pillaged me. Maybe you even plundered."

Eric stopped. "Do you feel that I took advantage of you…

"… no, I was kidding."

"…because I would never do anything to you against your will."

They both looked at each other. Then they burst into laughter.

"How soon can we do that again?" she asked.

"Oh dear, I feel I have created a monster," he said laughing again. "You need to let your body renew and settle after the shock of my -- what is the word? -- claim."

"So, it's back to regular sex for awhile."

"Just for a short while, but yes, I am afraid so."

"I guess I can live with that, if I have to," she said hugging him.

After he had finished she lay on his chest while he stroked her hair.

"I have hired a consultant," he finally said.

"Why? What kind of a consultant?" she asked leaning on crossed arms and looking at him.

"She is a sort of human relations specialist."

"What does she do?"

"She is working closely with Bill on a new Internet partner-matching site that I am creating."

"I was wondering why I haven't seen hide or hair of Bill Compton in a week."

"He is busy. Do you miss him?"

"He is still a friend."

"Sookie, you should not think of him. Your thoughts should be with me. "

They stared at each other.

"Eric I can't forget about him completely. We are bonded."

Eric clenched his teeth. "If you only knew how I tire of that fact. I do not need a reminder."

"Where's she from," asked Sookie looking down and changing the subject.

"She's Russian. She works well with Bill."

"You should bring her into Merlotte's some time. I would like to meet her," Sookie said trying to sound casual.

"I am not sure how the regular patrons at Merlotte's would react to her. But, you will definitely meet her. We will all be taking a trip to Dallas soon."

"Dallas? Why Dallas? I don't have fond memories of that place."

She realized now that Dallas was where Bill had begun his separation, even if only psychological. Her entanglement with the vampire politics had started there. Not to mention, that she had been severely beaten and almost raped in the bowels of the Fellowship of the Sun megachurch .

"I have to work," said Sookie.

"Oh no dear. I will hire you as a consultant as well."

"You are just swimming in consultants, aren't you"

"That is the difficulty of management," he sighed rolling his eyes.

As Sookie fell asleep in his arms she reminded herself to ask Eric what he meant by Internet partner-matching.

The next day, Bill's hands shook. Just slightly. It wasn't anything anyone else would notice, but during his three hour meeting he saw some papers flutter as he handed them to Joe and John the database administrators. He had been given a solid overview of how the software needed to interact with the website. Only, twice had he found himself looking off into space thinking of her. All in all he felt productive, the flight had gone off without a hitch, the meeting was productive, and he felt ready to usher the project on to the next phase.

So why he did he find himself staring at the fire in his room, hands in his pockets, tossing a small ball of want around in his brain? He chuckled and a fang peeked out recalling Amur in some prone sexual position, but he also remembered her curled up beside him while he read on the couch and how sweetly she snuffled and snorted when she slept. To say that she was sexually enticing was like saying the sun would rise and then set. As much as he didn't want to think about it, that was her job. Obviously, she had seduced him at Eric's behest. He had gone along with it out of desolation for Sookie, but found that he liked having her there for the company. He supposed that was why anyone got a pet. Was he developing feelings for her or was it more likely just the sex? Could you even have love with such a supernatural creature? He hated to think that he was lonely enough to miss a female that he had known for only one week, but his hotel room felt like a desert without her. His sole relief was that Sookie was not much in his thoughts. Of course, her presence was there humming faintly in the background, he supposed it always would be, but he did not ache for her.

Feeding on Amur was a spicy diet, so he opted to eat light and ordered a blond, vegetarian from the room service menu. The donor came up as more strawberry blond and faintly bready smelling. She yielded her neck with a small moan. He could have taken sexual pleasure from her, but he felt no passion, so he dry fed. Afterward, he glamored her to sleep and called down to tell them that they could leave the cart. It helped to have her heavy breathing in the room.

In his absence, Amur allowed herself to transform into her true leopard identity and explore the woods and swamps around Bill's house. She chased rustling movements in the underbrush circling the property, keeping the house always in sight. She scent-tracked a musky possum and found it hanging from one of the cemetery trees. She drained its blood efficiently. The cemetery with its weeping trees was beautiful, with many branches wide enough for stretching out and feeling the night air on her fur. Across the cemetery was an old house with glowing lights and the laughter of happy women. She crept up and peered in the window to see of them – a blond, a darker haired girl and an older black woman – playing cards at the kitchen table.

"What was that?" the darker haired woman asked going still.

"What do you hear?" asked the blond.

Amur pulled back, her glowing eyes disappearing into the night. They sat listening, quiet.

"Just an animal in the woods," said the woman.

Seeing their fellowship she felt the familiar tug of solitude, as she normally preferred to hunt alone at night. Still, it was hard not to think of Bill as the house was filled with his smell, his essence. She was grateful that she enjoyed their sex play. So far, every encounter had been pleasurable. Everyone had their preference and she was partial to naturally dominant men like Bill. For worse or for better, most of the vampires that contracted with her preferred that she take on the dominant role and make them submit to her. She had come to realize that the more powerful the vampire, the more he wanted to be under her boot. The more she degraded them, the faster their fangs ran down. Connor had judged her excellent, even artistic in the scenarios she created for his humiliation. Her skill lay in that she knew intimately what it was like to be on the receiving end of the whip. She balanced a fine line knowing that it could give infinite pleasure even while it inflicted intense pain. And, being the dominatrix was the better part to play as it was the safer role in unknown situations with strange vampires. But, the role – and it was just a part she played – often made her feel frustrated and dissatisfied. She supposed it was like any job.

Female vampires and human women, however, were another story.

As was Bill. He touched. He caressed. He stroked her hip when she slept. He nipped her ear during play. He knew intrinsically to be tactile, to rub, to pinch, to fondle. He loved to watch her frisk in the magical light that existed for the hour just after the sun had set.

Did she have feelings for Bill? Could a shifter love a vampire? At her core, she was a creature of instinct keyed into smell and the consistencies of spending time together. But on the surface and to the world she was a shifter who had been catering to the sexual fetishes and unsavory appetites of deranged vampires from a young age. She believed that they were all corrupted by bloodlust when it came down to it. Thus, she was surprised to find herself burying her face and inhaling Bill's pillow and then later rubbing her sex against the rough upholstery of his desk chair. She had not seen this coming. She decided to admit to a new desire, a new wanting, but she would not allow herself to fall into a swamp of feelings. After all, she was vulnerable, but she had learned to live with a low level of fear from childhood. It was a mosquito that followed her wherever she went, whining in her ear to not sit too still or she would be stung by some form of the violence she swam in. She was both surprised and afraid at how much she missed him. For the first time in a long time she was scared for someone else. Then, she was doubly scared for herself.


End file.
